Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) is increasingly recognized as an effective alternative to traditional open surgery. MIS operations on the internal abdomen organs are performed as laparoscopic surgery, in which, a miniature video camera and long narrow surgical instruments are inserted into the abdomen cavity through small incisions. The camera provides an image of the interior of the abdomen, enabling the surgeon to explore the internal organs and perform the operation using the surgical instruments.
Laparoscopic surgery has advantages over open surgery. It causes less operative trauma and post-surgical complications that shorten the hospitalization time and associated costs. Also, it leads to a much faster recovery for a patient, which is of great physiological and psychological importance. However, it is technically more demanding and at the same time more tedious and difficult for the surgeon. Laparoscopic surgery usually takes longer and needs more concentration than an open surgery. In particular, during operation, surgeons hold postures that are more static and non-ergonomic compared to that of open surgery, likely caused by less efficient instruments. Static postures have been reported to impose more fatigue than dynamic ones because the muscles and tendons form lactic acid and toxins when held in static position. Moreover, the non-ergonomic postures may expose surgeons to physical discomfort that may reduce the surgeons' precision, dexterity and confidence during surgery.
With the advancements of the robotic surgery systems, the surgeons are now able to carry out MIS procedures remotely, in more ergonomic postures. Moreover, the rigid mechanical structure of robot, along with the more efficient high degree of freedom (DOF) surgical tools, allows for improved maneuverability and a more precise and stable surgery with less tremor. Such characteristics of the surgical robots have enabled successful surgeries for prostate cancer, bladder cancer, renal pelvis cancer, colon cancer, and the like.
A robotic surgery system consists of a master manipulator and a slave robot. As the surgeon operates the master manipulator, it generates and transmits control signals to the slave robot. Accordingly, the slave robot operates and performs surgery on the patient based on the received signals. The currently available robotic surgery systems are based on integrated complex designs that require sophisticated infrastructure and educated human resources for maintenance and technical support. As a result, they are much expensive and involve very high maintenance costs. Moreover, the currently available systems utilize integrated and exclusively designed surgical tools at their end effector that are of single or limited use. Again, this increases their maintenance and operating costs considerably. Finally, the currently available systems do not provide force feedback information that is essential for avoiding excessive pinch or pull forces that could be damaging for the tissues under surgery.
In light of the above, it would be desirable to provide alternative designs and methodologies for robotic tele-surgery systems that improve the efficiency, flexibility, and comfort during surgery and reduce the price and operating and maintenance costs of the system. It would be particularly desirable to utilize modular designs that provide more configuration flexibility and the possibility of using conventional hand-held surgical tools. It would be further desirable to provide methods and techniques for measuring the tool-tissue force interactions to avoid large injurious forces on the tissues.